A Lifetime in Your Arms
by ChuChuMarshmallow
Summary: A collection of KanoKido (mostly unrelated) prompts using the 30 Hugs challenge, not done in any particular order. Length of chapters won't be consistent. Rating may go up in later chapters. Warnings, if applicable, will be placed in the beginning of the relevant chapter.
1. 23: Candlelight

After much internal debate and an unwillingness to spam the fandom tag, I've decided to put all of the KanoKido prompts into one collection. Since there's only 30 prompts, I don't think it'll be all that bad, considering the alternative of uploading everything separately. So here's to a nice, promising prompt table that I will most definitely finish!

A word about this particular start, though. I was in such a rush to write this for Kano's birthday (which I was in time for, on tumblr at least) that I forgot to include the main purpose of the prompt set: a hug! So this particular one will have two parts, with the second part including the hug. Just pretend that it was all together~ uwu;

Anywho, enough of that. Enjoy!

xx

"Kano? Kaaano, wake up. Do ya plan to sleep all day, or something?"

When he opened his eyes, Seto's smiling face filled his vision. He tiredly blinked, yawning as he sat up. It wasn't a rare occurrence to be woken up, but it was strange that for once, it wasn't Kido.

"I'm up, I'm up." Kano yawned again as he stretched, and Seto sat on the edge of the bed, studying him.

"Were you out late?" The brunet asked, and Kano immediately shook his head.

"I wasn't, the bed just was reeeeally comfy today."

"You're usually one of the first ones up today," Seto chuckled. "I'm surprised you decided to sleep in."

One of the first ones up? Kano raised an eyebrow. "Eh?"

It must've been the wrong reaction. Seto turned to him, astonished. "Don't tell me you forgot what today is? Kano, there's no way you can forget ya own birthday, right?"

Oh. "Of course not! I was just making sure Seto remembered. Honest!" The blond grinned, the lie slipping off his tongue with practiced ease. Seto gave him a doubtful look, but he didn't press him any further.

As Kano stood to get dressed, Seto filled him in on what he had missed. "Kido and Kisaragi-chan are still out shopping for party supplies. They should be on their way back soon."

The clock read that it was almost two o'clock. "Woah, I really did sleep in late today, huh. I'm surprised that Kido didn't come in and kick me."

He was a bit suspicious of Seto's reply of laughter, but he couldn't figure out exactly why. By the time they left the room, he pushed it into the back of his mind and forgot about it. The only one in the main area was Mary, sitting extremely close to a particularly delicious looking cake. It was decorated with whipped cream and strawberries, and he knew without thinking that it was Kido's work. There was no one else in their group that Kido would allow in the kitchen, let alone to bake a cake. When Mary turned to them, her eyes flashed with determination.

"It's my mission to stop you from getting to this cake, Kano-san!" He blinked, surprised by the sudden declaration. "Kido-san trusted me with this task!"

"A mission, huh~?" A mischievous grin split his face. It wasn't as though he had originally planned on sneaking bits of the cake, but if Mary looked so serious, with her cheeks puffed out and a book clutched in her hands, he couldn't resist the temptation.

She glared at him the entire walk to the couch. He only hummed in response, stretching out over the entire length of the furniture and pretended to be disinterested. Even without deceiving, he knew he could get past Mary and swipe one of those strawberries, and if he knew anything about Kido, she had counted every last one of them. Pulling out his phone and opening up a game, he quietly kept an eye on the medusa while Seto roamed into the kitchen.

It worked like a charm. Mary's stare began to falter, and she was reduced to occasional glances up from her book instead of watching his every move. It was just the chance he needed. He extended his arms obnoxiously, reaching behind Mary. His fingers nearly brushed against one of those really tasty looking strawberries. He was going to win.

The door knob twisted and he froze in his tracks. The decision to pull back or not ping ponged in his head - should he dodge the inevitable consequence or go along with it, if only to rise a reaction out of Kido? At the last second, he snatched his hand back to his side, leaning back against the armrest and whistling as if nothing happened. Mary hadn't noticed a thing. It was Momo that entered the building first, bright eyed and all smiles; she was a pure opposite of the following Kido, who seemed to pull in on herself, as if she wanted to shrink out of existence. She was clutching at her hood, pulling it down as far as it could possibly go. When he caught her eye, she quickly looked away. Unless his eyesight diminished the moment the two walked in, he was sure that her cheeks were tinted pink.

"Ah, Kido-"

"Welcome back!" Seto cut him off, walking up to Kido and taking some of the bags (how many were there? Kano hadn't even noticed that she was carrying them) from her hands. "How'd it go? Did ya get everything?"

"Yep!" Momo couldn't stay still, shifting from one foot to the other as she sat an extra bag on the floor. "We went to the salon and I got my hair done! How is it?"

Kano stared, trying to figure out what exactly changed. It was the same style, same color, same length. He leaned forward onto his forearms and blinked before voicing the question that had drowned the room in silence.

"What's different?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Seto tense and look away. Mary stood and shuffled closer to the stunned idol, inspecting her hair closely.

"Is it shinier, Momo-chan?" Her eyes lit up. "That's it, right? It's shinier, definitely!"

Even as Momo seemed to be crushed by the lack of attention that her questionably indifferent hairstyle gained, Mary bounced around as if she had won a prize. Seto, with a strained expression as if he had trouble figuring out how to handle the situation, moved to calm her down. Kano couldn't withhold his snickering, and it only increased when Momo robotically went through one of the shopping bags, picked out a specific box, and moved it to the kitchen.

As Mary questioned Seto about Momo's strange reaction, Kano looked around. Kido was gone, having disappeared at some point during the exchange. Curiosity piqued, he slipped away from the others, silently making his way towards Kido's room. When he pressed his ear against the door, he could only hear the sound of shuffling fabric on the other side. A sly grin grew on his face as he turned the knob.

"Kido~?"

The squeal came long before any kind of sight did, and the door was hastily slammed back against him. He stumbled, but he quickly recomposed himself and leaned against the door with a smirk.

"G-Go away!"

Kano raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Did Kido's voice just crack? You're just changing aren't you?"

"I-I mean it! I can't deal with you right now!"

A pout set on his lips, despite her not being able to see it. He made sure it showed in his voice. "How mean~ and on my birthday, too!"

She didn't bother responding to him, and the shuffling resumed, but this time it was much closer. Occasionally, there was a bump against the door and a low hiss. Whatever it was that Kido was doing, she seemed to be struggling with it.

"Kido?" He wasn't exactly sure if she'd respond to him, but he tried regardless. "Are you doing okay?"

There was a pause, and he was really wondering if he had done something to piss Kido off recently. As he thought back on it, he almost missed the soft reply.

"I'm fine. T-This is nothing."

"What's nothing?"

"Nothing is... nothing! Just go help set up or something!"

"Kido is confusing today~" Kano mused, though in his head something clicked. "Ah, is it my birthday present? Is Kido putting it together?"

"... Something like that. And I don't want you spoiling it like you always do!"

"Ehh, I don't always..." The lie slipped without second thought as he scratched at his cheek.

"You do! And it's going to be different this time, so go away and help the others set up!"

"I got it, I got it~ I'll leave Kido alone." He said, but he didn't move away from the door just yet. He stayed to listen, and when he heard her sigh softly, he shoved his hands into his pockets and made his way back down the hall.

He wasn't sure if there was anything much for him to do; when he stepped back into the living room, it was almost completely finished. Everything from the party decorations to the cake sitting on the table was in perfect order, but his eyes landed on Momo in the corner as she handled various gift bags, boxes, and something in a plain bag. Whistling lowly as Seto and Mary put a predetermined set of candles on the cake together, he moved past a nearly-dead looking Shintaro, stopping momentarily to check if he actually was alive or not.

"Ah, don't worry about Master. That guy is slowly dying of embarrassment from today!" Ene cackled from the table. Interesting, and he planned on taking full advantage of that information later, but for right now his sights were set solely on something else.

"Ahh, Kisaragi-chaaan~" He purred, sidling up to the younger sibling. "What's that, what's that?"

He thoroughly expected to be pushed aside, but it felt far different from Kido's physical reactions. "Kano-san! Don't look! These are surprises!"

Feigning innocence, Kano stepped back and held his hands in the air defensively. "I didn't know!"

The glare he received nearly forced him to hide his smirk. Nearly. "Somehow, I don't believe you."

Ignoring the statement with a hum, he sat on the edge of the couch, watching Momo's every move. "If all the presents are out here, do you know what Kido has in her room?" It was stated with an air of nonchalance, as if a conversation in passing, but he found was he was looking for in her response - a temporary freeze.

"W-Was there something in her room? I had no idea."

His eyes narrowed, but he kept his smirk. Momo had all of the qualifications of an honest person who couldn't properly lie. "Oh? Well I guess I'll just have to see later on."

She didn't further amuse him with a response. That sort of thing was pretty common today, it seemed, and he leaned back against the couch before glancing over at lifeless Shintaro. He was murmuring something constantly under his breath, a hand limply hiding his face, and Kano only caught bits and pieces of "I want to die" and "I didn't mean it" and "It's her fault for running into me, right?". Ene's laughter had never ceased, so it must've been something extremely painful to watch. Perfect ammunition for later.

Overruling her voice, a chime from the phone signaled an alarm of some sort going off. Ene quickly attended to it, wiping virtual tears from her eyes. "It's time, it's time!"

It was a bit impressive, if he thought about it. For the past two years, when their group had only three members, birthdays were done on a small-scale to save money. There had never been much planning, let alone such a large pile of presents that tempted him so much. Maybe this was the effect of having so many interesting, new people around to celebrate.

"Kano-san, the cake!" Momo called out to him, snatching him away from his thoughts. "Sit in front of it!"

"Okay, okay~" Kano slid off of the couch, plopping himself on the floor in front of the table. The cake looked bigger with the change of eye level, but it was no less enticing. Seto leaned over it, lighting the multi-colored candles. He wasn't fifteen, and he knew that Kido always did things for a reason, so his natural assumption was that there were such a small amount of candles to save space on the cake.

The natural light faded from the room as the curtains closed, their only source turning to the flickering candles. As everyone gathered around the table, Kano looked around.

"Is Kido still in her room?"

He didn't have to wait long for a response.

"Of course not. I'm right here, idiot."

Kido's voice was certainly there, but her image was not, and it wasn't just because of the candlelight.

"Why is Kido hiding?" He questioned, eyes darting around to make sure that he didn't miss her.

"B-Because!"

"Because?"

"I..."

Kano hummed. "It's not fair that everyone else is here and you're hiding, Kido. Shouldn't you join in? You're our feared leader-san, aren't you?"

He could hear her inhale, sharp as if she was ready to punch him, but nothing of the sort came. Instead, she was suddenly sitting on the opposite side of the table, and Kano's breath was stolen.

Her eyes only met his shortly before snapping to the ground. Curly green strands were pulled back into a ponytail, accented by a large, white ribbon. She wasn't wearing a dress or a skirt, though the lacy tube top shirt and non-baggy jeans were more than enough to make her nearly seem like a completely different person. Hands fisted in her lap and her gaze burning into them, her face was a shade of red that he could make out even in the dark.

He hoped that his own heated face wasn't as noticeable.

"Ohhh? He's speechless! The one who always has something to say is absolutely speechless!" Ene jeered from somewhere near his left.

"Th-This is only for today!" Kido stressed, "It's a one time thing!"

"Ahh, Kido-san looks so pretty!" It was Mary next, her hands clasped together in front of her as she beamed.

Momo made a satisfactory, proud noise. "It was my idea! Danchou didn't know what to get for a present this year, so I decided on the limited edition outfit change operation! It's great, right? It suits her, right?"

Realizing that he hadn't said anything in quite some time, Kano took the chance. "It does, it does! It's like a completely different Kido!"

He was kicked under the table for his opinion, but he had completely expected that.

"J-Just start it already, Ene!" Kido growled, though it held no venom or intimidation factor.

"Yes, cute leader~!"

A chiptuned version of the traditional happy birthday song began to play from Shintaro's phone, a cue for the others to sing along. He grinned as they sung, his eyes running over everyone's joyful faces until they locked with Kido's. Her blush didn't fade but she didn't turn away this time, offering him a smile as she continued to sing. It wasn't common, but he offered an honest smile in return. The song ended and Momo urged him to make a wish. Looking from Kido to the cake, he kept himself from deceiving anyone and didn't hide his content expression.

_I wish that this happiness will stay with us forever. _Kano prayed, and blew out the candles.


	2. Candlelight, part 2

Here's that part 2/omake for the first prompt! It definitely would've been something added to the end of it, if I hadn't flubbed up.

Enjoy~

xx

The night had quieted down, the excitement of the day exhausted. With Shintaro passed out on the couch, Kido was sure to be as quiet as possible as she moved about, picking up pieces of trash and collecting stray dishes. It was an active fight to keep herself from humming softly along with her ipod as she cleaned, a habit that she had taken up ever since she started caring for others. If she drowned herself in her music, she could forget about a lot of things. The feeling of exposure generating from her new outfit was one she hoped would be erased soon. _Maybe it was a mistake to follow Kisaragi's suggestion_, she thought as she wrapped up the remnants of the cake. Mary might've come up with something less... _extreme. _

When she turned away from the fridge, the cake safely tucked away, her eyes met with the silhouette of a person - or something that _looked_ like a person. She jumped out of her skin and tripped over her own feet with lips parted as a scream prepared to rip from her throat. A hand hastily covered her mouth. Her vision focused onto amused golden eyes.

She read the words, "Shhh, Kido! You'll wake everyone!"

Her racing heartbeat was slow to realize that she wasn't in danger of any strange supernatural phenomenon. Eyes narrowed, she snatched Kano's hand away from her mouth and pulled one earbud out of her ear.

"Idiot! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Despite her hiss, the mischievous glint in those cat-like slits didn't fade. "Did I scare Kido? Sorry, sorry!"

She knew it was a false apology, and her hand smacked the top of his head. As he whined over the assault, she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What are you still doing up? Could you not sleep?"

Kano's hands folded behind his head. "Kido's still up." Was his simple reply, though it answered nothing. Before she had the chance to snap at him for avoiding the question, he spoke again. "Do you need some help?"

She blinked, temporarily stunned by the offer. Kano had never really been the cleaning type, let alone the type that offered her with chores, but before she knew it, he had grabbed the broom and moved towards the living room. It was a pleasant surprise and she wasn't going to turn down the free assistance, but she couldn't help but wonder if he had some sort of ulterior motive in his mind. She definitely wouldn't put it past him, but if he was helping, the nightly task could be done faster.

As Kano swept, Kido focused on the dishes. Thankfully there weren't that many, but the remnants of cake left on most of them were enough to make them mildly frustrating. She was alert to the footsteps behind her this time, having learned her lesson from moments before.

"Thanks for the help. If you're finished, go to bed. These dishes are the only things left." She ordered without turning around. It was almost surprising to think that he'd listen without a word, but when arms wrapped around her middle and a head nuzzled against her back, she realized that she gave him too much credit. "W-what are you doing?"

"Hey, Kido. Do you like changing?"

The question threw her off almost as much as the pensive tone of his voice. Her brows furrowed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your clothes. You haven't changed them. Is it because Kido likes them?"

His explanation came far too fast for her to believe that it was truly what was on his mind, but she let it slide. "It would be pointless to go through the trouble of putting this on just to take it off immediately."

"Is that so?" Kano hummed, and she was suddenly acutely aware that he was still pressed up against her. Strands of his hair tickled her bare arms. Her face burned, and instinct drove her elbow into his side. He yelped, releasing his hold on her and stumbling back a little.

"Ow! What was that for?"

Looking at him from over her shoulder, she felt the familiar sense of guilt curling in her stomach as he rubbed his ribs; she hadn't meant to put that much strength into the blow. "Ah, um, my bad."

With the way he whimpered, she wasn't sure if it had actually been painful or if he was just over dramatizing it. "That really hurt, Kido! And here I was, about to thank you!"

Kano always knew how to push her buttons and make her feel any way that he wanted her to. Even though she knew this, she could never really help herself. Teeth tugging at her bottom lip, she reached out to gently massage the injury before softly questioning his statement.

"Thank me for what?"

The smugly satisfied look that he wore made her stop her generous action. It was always a mystery with Kano, and it frustrated her more times than not. She could hit him again to see if he truly was hurt, despite how counterproductive it seemed, or she could let him continue on with his charade. The jab probably wasn't _too_ bad, she figured, pushing away her concern and waiting for his answer.

"For the visual present of course! I didn't say much earlier because Kido would've ran off, but it's suuuuper sexy! Kido looks like a girl again! You should wear it every day, you know?"

Kido's nails dug into her palm. Her eyes were daggers.

"Eh? Kido? What's that look for? I-It was a joke, okay? A joke!"

She didn't care if it woke Shintaro in the end. The feeling of her fist colliding with Kano's stomach and the resulting howl were satisfying enough for her.


End file.
